Mocha in a Cupcake

Ingredients

Cupcakes

150 g unsalted butter, soft

200 g dark muscovado

150 g eggs (3 medium)

150 g self-raising flour

25 g cocoa powder

50 ml milk

50 ml whipping cream

25 g cocoa powder

3 tsp instant coffee granules

1 tbsp hot water

Yield

Cupcake cases vary in sizes and height so it really depends which ones you are using. This batter makes 16 cupcakes for the cases shown in the photos.

Baking the cupcakes

Sieve all the self-raising flour and 25 g cocoa powder once. Set it aside for now.

Bring the whipping cream and milk until just coming up to boil. Take it off the heat and whisk in the other 25 g cocoa powder to make a smooth paste. Set aside, whisking occasionally so that the paste does not form a skin on the surface.

Combine the coffee granules and hot water. Let it cool.

In a mixer, cream the butter and muscovado until light and fluffy. Add the cooled coffee and reduce the speed of the mixer so that you can now incorporate the eggs.

Add an egg yolk and portion of egg white, beating well before adding another one. With the last egg, I find it helps to add just the yolk first, let the mixer beat it into the batter. Finish with just the remaining egg whites; in my experience of doing so the batter has a lesser likelihood of splitting if the eggs were slightly colder than the butter. Another tip is to crank up the speed once you have added an egg to quickly beat it in, and then lower the speed to add another one. Keep repeating this until all the eggs are in.

Fold in 1/3 of the flour and cocoa powder, then half of the cocoa powder paste. Repeat this process. Finish with the remaining 1/3 of dry ingredients, making sure that there are no clumps of flour or streaks of cocoa paste.

Spoon the batter into your cupcake moulds or cases of choice, filling only up to 2/3 of the mould or case(see notes below on levelling the cupcakes).

Bake at 160˚C - 165˚C for 15 minutes.

Leave to cool in their cases.